New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-04-25
CRUELTY TO THE INSANE.
ALLEGED MURDER OF CHARLES W. BROWN,
CHARGES AGAINST ATTENDANTS IN THE STATE AsY-
LuM-AyFIDAvrr OF A FORMER INMATE.
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LuM-AvFIDAvrr OF A FORMER INMATE.
tsr TELEGRAPH TO THE rRrBuxE1
BUFFALO, April 24.-The Grand Jury OF the
Supreme Court win tomorrow inquire as 10 the
death Of Charles w. Brown at the state Asylum
for the Insane. Four of his ribs were broken
and three of the attendants have been charged
with manslaughter for inficting the injuries. One
OF the witnesses will be Mary Grant, who today
made sworn statement of her experiences while
an inmate of the asylum. She was placed there
on May l., 1885, after having been brutality
treated by her husband She says: The first
night 1 was in the asylum was given some kind
of dfsagreeable medicine which stupe1ed roe. b
refused to take it, but one OF the attendants toelc
me by the throat and the other caught me by
the hair and forced the medicine down my throat.
That night 1 was frightened almost to death by
seeing two attendants in night gowns holding
dark lanterns, which they thrust into my face.
1 became deathly sick and for number of weeks
was prostrated in bed, scarcely eating any food.
/ requested them to send for the priest, as l be-
licved l would never get out of bed alive.
was In the Disturbed female ward. could not
rest for hearing dreadful language and seeing
awful sights Mrs. Grant says that she was
placed in an iron crib like prison, and her hor-
rOr was so great that she wondered it did not
drive her crazy. She prayed that death would
relieve her. In her affidavit she also says:
al saw a lady patient i'll treated one morning
in the dining-room. While sitting at the break
fast table she refused to eat when the attendant,
Miss Lewis, blew whistle and half dozen at
tendants came running into the room, knocked
her down and stamped urOn her. There was no
reason for such harsh treatment, as the poor
thing was not violent. 1t was done to tcrrify
the rest Of us. 1 another terrible scene in
the laundry, when a patient was sent there to
work. As soon as she entered the door she ran
toward the steam mangle and put her arm be-
tween the meta rollers and the bones crushed
into jelly, and l could smell the burned flesh and
blood Her cries were heartrcnding. l also saw
disturbed patient jump from the bath-room
window, and as she was going through the at
tendant caught her by the hair, which came out
in handful The poor thing fell three or four
stories, and heard that she broke her ann.
looked out and saw her in the snow. 1 don't
know whether she received any other injuries
or not. We did not hear much about what was
going on. Those affairs which have described
1 myself. l was detained there longer than
necessary because l was thought to be a
hard working patient for the laundry l have
been out Of the asylum over two years, and have
since supported myself and my boy
Abram White of Perry, who says his ribs were
broken, is also to be witness. lie says that the
cruelties practised at the asylum are terrible
Superintendent Andrews says that he wants q
thorough investigation, and the District Attorney
intends to make 1t.